I wore the Red Suit (8 page)

         
“What would you like for Christmas Joey?” “Santa, would you bring a Megazoid just like the one under my daddy's bed.” Where else can you wave at random people and get away with it; and they wave back.

I will do anything to make a child feel at ease or comfortable when they come to see me. Some kids are nervous; they get tongue tied when they are this close to Santa and do not know what I am saying to them. Only that they are here with me, and I am asking questions. The child stares straight ahead and speaks into the air. Looking directly at Santa makes some of them really nervous. When I talk to some of them, they just say yes, or nod their heads. So I say; “do you want GI Joes for Christmas?” “Yes,” they say. “Do you want or play with puzzles? Would you like a puzzle?” Again, a quiet yes and a nod. “How about a dried frog?” Not even a bat of an eyelash, just yes. “I have an old broken ceiling fan, would you like that too?” Another “yes.” After a while, I chuckle, and they relax when they realize what I just said. Kids are so funny sometimes.

    
    
 
I called an incorrect phone number trying to connect with one of the father’s that I do kids pre-Christmas visits. Before I realized that it was a wrong number, she started asking me what I did, and how much I charged. She asked if I did Santa for other people. I said sure, so she took my number and will call me next year to schedule a time for me visit her kids. And my following just keeps growing.

Santa Adventures

 
        
At the last minute, I was asked to play Santa at the company where I am a software consultant. My Santa suit and makeup were in New York, and I was in Florida. My wife in her ability to fix things without too much fuss took care of getting it to me. Mrs. Claus (Susan) went to Federal Express that afternoon and told them she needed to send this box to Florida in a hurry. Since I needed it for the next afternoon, the woman at the counter told her next-day air delivery would be the fastest.
 
Susan carefully wrapped it and gave it to the people behind the counter. As the woman was making out the tag, she asked the value. “About $700.00,” my wife returned. The woman looked at her. “What is it,” she asks? My wife replied, “Santa's red suit.” “Excuse me.” The woman says, “a what?” “Santa's red suit” my wife says again. “Listen, I am married to Santa Claus, and he is down in Florida. He needs his red suit.” The woman just shook her head. She took the box and money from my wife and set it on the counter behind her. As she did that the bells attached to my Santa hat, plus the several bells on the reindeer harness in the box began to jingle. She turned and looked at my wife with her eyes opened wide. “Merry Christmas” my wife says as she turns around and walks out the door.

         
 
I was so worried that the suit would not make it on time, the next day I drove the Mailroom people nuts by checking with them every ten minutes. They must have thought it was some hardware for an important project I was working on. The package finally did come, and the Mailroom person brought it to me. “Is this the important package you wanted?” “Yes, thank you,” I said as I took it from him. “What's in here he asked?” “Why?” “Well, when I picked it up, it jingles. I think maybe some is broken during shipment.” I gave the box a shake and am rewarded by the bells. I forgot there were sleigh bells with my suit.
 
“Oh, you would not believe me if I told you.” I managed to be dressed and primped only a half-hour before I was to start. I ended up with visiting over 500 employees. I gave each one a candy cane. Later, I sat in a chair in the company's main lobby and handed out toys to the employee's kids. What I thought was interesting was that I sat with about fifty kids in a two-three- hour spread. Not one of them cried, even though there usually a small percentage that is scared, and will run away.

I was coming back from doing a kid’s Christmas party late one night about 11:30 pm. It had snowed days earlier, and the land was covered with snow. Because it was up in the mountains, the roads were also covered with snow and ice. I came across a car half in a ditch with a young woman in an evening gown looking at it sitting there, wondering how to get it out?
 
She rather wobbled as if she had been drinking too much.
 
The car was not quite off the road, but definitely stuck, and would not move. I drove up from behind her as she stared at the car. I pulled off the right side of the road. I got out and walked up to her. She did not see me pull up and stop. Her attention was focused on her car in the ditch.
 
It was a lonely old road with hardly any traffic on it.
 
I said in a soft voice, "can I help you miss?" She turned around startled and just stared at me with these huge brown eyes. She never expected a person in a red suit would stop to help her.
 
I tried to push her car out, but it was too heavy and too stuck.
 
After a while, people driving by stopped and got out to help.
 
Several young men did stop, and we pushed the car from the ditch.
 
She thanked us all and wanted to give me money. I would never take any money, so I told her that payment would be if she saw some on else in distress to give them a hand if she could. I figured if everyone in the world did this, it would certainly be a better world to live in.
 

My wife arranged for me to dress as Santa, and visit her friends’ kids in Kingston, and Cairo NY. Since I sported a natural White beard and hair, there was no problem pulling off the illusion. I borrowed a Santa outfit and off we went. I had a good time, but the real fun, was in the kids I met along the way. I had to drop off my wife's homemade cookies to a retired schoolteacher. She worked part-time in a florist shop. As I carried the cookies inside, I saw a young boy at the counter with his mother. I quickly went back out to the car, and picked up my red bag that was full of candy canes. I went in with big Ho’s and a hearty laugh. The little boy spun around so fast he almost fell over. I said to him, “there you are. I have been looking all over for you. I was checking on all the good boys and girls, and you were not at home. I am so glad I found you.” I spent a few worthwhile minutes with Davy, and he told me what he wanted for Christmas. I left feeling good about what I had done. My wife told me later, that the retired teacher that I delivered the homemade cookies called and told her what a sweet thing I did. What I did not know was Davy had just gotten over having the chicken pox, and has been inside his house for weeks. He missed the school parties, the visits to Santa at the malls. He was not having any fun this Christmas. It was just three days to Christmas, and he had not told Santa what he wanted. I know that I made his Christmas better, mine sure was.

While playing Santa at a large Mall in New York, I had a family from India come

and visit me. There were two sets of parents,’ five kids, and one older matriarch.

She was dressed in Indian attire complete with the red dot in the middle of her forehead.

I could see that it was actually made of a red powder. I know it is considered sacred in Hindu religion; the area between the eyebrows is where the Third Eye is believed to be located.
She carried herself with dignity and poise. She was quite tall for a woman, almost six feet. With the children standing there, I reached out to take one and put him on my knee. He backed away along with the rest of the children. I looked at the parents, and they backed away from me too. They stood on either side of me just far enough away to be out of reach. For a brief second, I thought I had somehow offended them. The elderly matriarch came over and sat on my knee. The helpers took a picture, and one of the men paid for it. The woman bows to me, and they all leave. I saw them standing around earlier watching the other kids and their parents file through. I really did not think much of it. The old woman must have just wanted a picture. The next day I was discussing this with an associate at work who was born in India. He told me that, in India, they knew of Santa Claus as a Christian belief. Therefore, when they saw me sitting there with children, tugging my beard, they must have thought I was the real thing. Out of respect, as my associate tells me, the eldest family member, who would have been the matriarch, came and sat with Santa as a sign of reverence. Because of my interest in Indian culture surrounding Christmas, my associate, Rajamani said that in India, Christmas was not a holiday and the birth of Christ has no real importance. December 25th is the same as any other day, except for the few who do observe Christmas. For those they will rise well before dawn on Christmas morning; sometime between 2:00 – 3:00am. There is singing and hymns, and they will hold worship services until dawn. There is a Christmas party later, which the Indians call
Tamasha
, complete with a tree and a small gift for everybody there.
 
They do not have Evergreen trees, so most times it is a banana tree that takes center stage, complete with large bunches of bananas still growing on it.

Animal Scene

Do you think it is tough sitting with a fidgeting child on your lap? Or, how about a crying baby who does not want to be near this person in a bright-red coat, white beard, and jolly laugh. This is nothing compared to holding an animal, that will scratch, bite, or scream to get away and back to its master. Yeah, Santa will even pose with pets for a picture. Some children will bring a cat, dog, or hamster to be held by Santa. It's fun to watch one child keep his pet hamster or bird away from another child's pet cat. Dogs barking, cats trying to scratch poor Santa can be a very trying time.

I have this woman with her dog seek me out every year. Wellington is a small lap dog not much bigger than a large snowball. I have worked in several of the malls in the past years. She always seems to find me. She has had the dog's picture taken with Santa for years now. When I see the dog coming, I can call it by name. That little pooch is so happy to see me; it tries to lick my cheek off. This has few kids and parents standing around scratching their heads. Santa even knows the animals’ names they say. Each year little Wellington comes dressed as a different character. One year, he was a reindeer with little antlers. Another time as a green-clad elf, complete with four shoes and turned-up toes. The last time I saw Wellington, he was Santa Claus, even with a little white beard. The woman copied the three little brass bells I wear on my own Santa cap. Wellington is in dog heaven now, but I have the memories of him to pass on.